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Berichus and the Evidence for Aspar's Political Power and Aims in the Last Years of Theodosius II's Reign

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Berichus and the Evidence for Aspar's Political Power and Aims in the Last Years of Theodosius II's Reign Studia Ceranea 8, 2018, p. 237–251 ISSN: 2084-140X DOI: 10.18778/2084-140X.08.13 e-ISSN: 2449-8378 Łukasz Pigoński (Łódź) Berichus and the Evidence for Aspar’s Political Power and Aims in the Last Years of Theodosius II’s Reign he objective of this article is to explore the evidence for the political position T of Aspar in the last years of the reign of Theodosius II. There is almost no information concerning the general’s activity in the sources; only one situation mentioned by Priscus provides some evidence, albeit indirect. The event in ques- tion is the diplomatic scandal concerning a certain Berichus, a Hunnic nobleman and diplomat, who fell into disagreement with the envoy Maximinus over the lat- ter’s alleged statements concerning Aspar’s incompetence and lack of influence at the court. The situation is certainly unclear and calls for further analysis. It is important to note that scholars are not in agreement when it comes to the evaluation of Aspar’s political power and goals in the last years of the reign of The- odosius II. Most researchers concentrate on the political struggle that emerged immediately after the emperor’s death and involved Aspar, Theodosius’s sister Pulcheria, as well as the eunuch Chrysaphius – Theodosius’s all-powerful advisor. It used to be assumed routinely in the literature that Aspar retained his political power despite his military defeats at the hands of the Huns, and used it to secure the throne for his close subordinate, Marcian1. This viewpoint was independently challenged by Ronald Bleeker and Kenneth Holum, both of whom claimed that Aspar’s influence diminished severely in those years, so that he was only able to regain it through his alliance with Pulcheria2. This 1 The accounts vary between those that underscore Aspar’s power and influence as Kaisermacher – G. Vernadsky, Flavius Ardabur Aspar, SF 6, 1941, p. 53; A.H.M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire 284–602. A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey, Oxford 1964, p. 218; B. Bachrach, A His- tory of the Alans in the West. From Their First Appearance in the Sources of Classical Antiquity through the Early Middle Ages, Minneapolis 1973, p. 44; A. Demandt, Geschichte der Spätantike, 2München 2008, p. 152 [= AGBHB], and those that put more emphasis on Pulcheria’s role – J.B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, AD 395 to AD 565, London 1923, p. 235–236; E. Stein, Histoire du Bas-Empire, Paris 1959, p. 311. 2 R.A. Bleeker, Aspar and Attila: The Role of Flavius Ardaburius Aspar in the Hun Wars of the 440s, AWo 3, 1980, p. 23–29; K.G. Holum, Theodosian Empresses. Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Retrieved from https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/sceranea [01.10.2021] 238 Łukasz Pigoński theory was criticized by Richard Burgess, who considers it much more likely that Pulcheria was a mere pawn in Aspar’s hands, and that the commander was one of the most important people at the court3. Other scholars opt for a more balanced approach, recognizing both Aspar and Pulcheria as powerful political figures, who created a political alliance with the Isaurian general Flavius Zeno4. There are multiple questions that remain unanswered. What was the situation on the Byzantine political scene in the last three years of Theodosius’s reign, and how did the war of 447 affect it? Did Aspar ally himself with Flavius Zeno, and if so, why did the two potential rivals decide to work together? Did Aspar oppose Chrysaphius all along, or did he do so only when he saw the opportunity to secure the throne for his protégé? Only a handful of voices in the literature have attempt- ed to deal with the problem of Aspar’s actual aims. Gerhard Wirth acknowledges Aspar as one of the most powerful people at the court, considering him a propo- nent of pro-Hunnic policy; interestingly enough, the scholar bases his argument on Berichus’s claims5. Contrary to that, Leighton Scott considers it unlikely that Aspar supported the Huns6; however, he considers the whole scandal concerning Maximinus and Berichus an expression of the former’s anti-barbarian prejudice7. Antiquity, Berkeley–London 1981, p. 206–209. Even though Holum’s work seems to have much greater prominence in the scholarly literature, Bleeker’s interpretation is markedly more detailed, especially considering the topic of this article; therefore, it deserves more attention. Based on the vague descrip- tion by Theophanes (Theophanis Chronographia, AM 5942, rec. C. de Boor, Lipsiae 1883–1885 [cetera: Theophanes]), Bleeker assumes that both Aspar and Areobindus held the titles of magistri militum in praesentis; however, they would have been demoted due to their unsuccessful attempts at stopping the Huns in the 440s (R.A. Bleeker, Aspar…, p. 25–26). The scholar presents the events in the context of the political struggle between different ethnic groups in the army, claiming that the failure of Ger- manic commanders allowed the Romans and the Isaurians to gain the upper hand for a short period of time, until Aspar recovered his position with Pulcheria’s help (R.A. Bleeker, Aspar…, p. 27–28). This is very unlikely, however (see note 19), as it does not take into consideration some of the relevant events, such as the conflict between the Isaurian Flavius Zeno and Chrysaphius. Nonetheless, it should be noted that this is not the only interpretation that follows such train of thought. Earlier, E.A. Thomp- son (The Isaurians under Theodosius II, Her 48, 1946, p. 29–30) pointed out that Aspar had a powerful political contender in Flavius Zeno, hinting at the Alan commander’s losing some of his influence due to Zeno’s rise to power. However, when analysing the relevant power structure, the researcher calls Zeno’s lack of initiative to face Aspar “a mystery”, offering no explanation. 3 R.W. Burgess, The Accession of Marcian in the Light of Chalcedonian Apologetic and Monophysite Polemic, BZ 86/87, 1994, p. 27–68. 4 C. Zuckermann, L’Empire d’Orient et les Huns. Notes sur Priscus, TM 12, 1994, p. 176; The Ecclesia- stical History of Evagrius Scholasticus, ed. et. trans. M. Whitby, Liverpool 2000 [= TTH, 33], p. 60, an. 12; A.D. Lee, Theodosius and His Generals, [in:] Theodosius II. Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity, ed. C. Kelly, Cambridge–New York 2013 [= CCS], p. 95–96. The researcher also claims that following Aspar’s defeats in 447, the general could have lost his command over the impe- rial armies, while Zeno’s forces in the East remained unscathed; this would have rendered him the most powerful general at the time. Cf. C. Zuckermann, L’Empire…, p. 172. 5 G. Wirth, Attila. Das Hunnenreich und Europa, Stuttgart 1999, p. 87–88. 6 L. Scott, Aspar and the Burden of Barbarian Heritage, ByzS 3, 1976, p. 63. 7 Ibidem, p. 59. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/sceranea [01.10.2021] Berichus and the Evidence for Aspar’s Political Power… 239 Roger Blockley provides a different explanation, claiming that Berichus may have simply been concerned with the influence of his Gothic compatriots in the Empire8. Nevertheless, he considers Aspar to be an opponent of Theodosius II’s Hunnic policy and even attributes his falling out of favour to those disagreements9. Thus, in what follows, we shall analyse all of the available information in detail. Regrettably, not much is known about Berichus himself. According to Priscus, he was one of Attila’s logades (Gr. λογάδες). Some scholars have attributed this term found in Priscus’s account to a certain political rank within the Hunnic society10. However, it is more likely that the term simply meant ‘distinguished’, and, as ex- plained by Otto Maenchen-Helfen, it did not entail any specific function11. Nevertheless, in the case of Berichus, we have some additional information about his political position within the Hunnic society. Priscus claims that he was well-born; thus, he was likely descended from an established aristocratic line, which would have certainly helped his political standing. Additionally, he was a landowner – as related by Priscus, he ruled numerous villages in Scythia. Fur- thermore, he probably commanded military contingents from said settlements and was responsible for taxation in them, which would point to his having a con- siderable political status due to wealth, prestige, as well as military and administra- tive functions. We also know that he took part in the banquet organized by Attila and sat in front of the Roman ambassador at the table. Considering that, he must have been a significant figure, yet not one of Attila’s closest men, as Priscus states, that the embassy was purposefully sat at the king’s left-hand side, which was to indicate its lesser status12. It follows that Berichus’s place at the table was not particularly prestigious. However, we do not know whether that was due to his 8 R.C. Blockley, East Roman Foreign Policy. Formation and Conduct from Diocletian to Anastasius, Leeds 1992, p. 66. A similar explanation was offered by L. Tyszkiewicz (Hunowie w Europie. Ich wpływ na Cesarstwo Wschodnie i Zachodnie oraz na ludy barbarzyńskie, Wrocław 2004 [= AUW, 2695], p. 135), with the difference that Berichus’s anger would have been caused by personal grudge rather than political concern. 9 R.C. Blockley, East…, p. 67. 10 According to some scholars, they were responsible for collecting taxes and leading the tribal con- tingents in battle. Distinct from the original aristocracy, they would have been closely connected to – or even personally picked by – the king himself.
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